Most of my schoolmates and friends considered the Attleboro YMCA our "home away from home" throughout our younger years in the late '50s and throughout the '60s.
It was possible to stay in condition year-round. We played in age-appropriate basketball leagues over the long winters playing for teams in the Pony League (junior high) and Nut League (high school). The inimitable Otto Gigone conducted volleyball leagues. The finer points of wrestling and weightlifting were taught under the watchful eyes of Bob Lepper and Bob Fredette.
Although not under the auspices of the Y, we had little league baseball, junior football, Pony League, Legion ball and Intertown League. We played Sunday Morning Tea League football, not even to mention our countless pickup basketball, baseball and football matches we organized among ourselves.
The YMCA hoop leagues were highly competitive, and working up a sweat on those cold winter evenings, followed by an invigorating shower before the walk to Heagney's for a burger, fries and a vanilla Coke with teammates and opponents, topped the evening off admirably before the walk home.
Presented here are Attleboro Sun accounts of Pony League games played in March 1964.
Caddies, Valiants locked in tie For Pony League lead
One week remains on the YMCA Pony League schedule and the Cadillac and Valiant teams are still deadlocked for first place in the second half standings. The Cadillac five won the first half crown.
In last night's action, the Caddies won easily over Chevrolet by a 37-21 count. The winners held leads at the end of each quarter and found Ron Steele with 19 points and Steve Payette with 10 as high scorers. Tom Walsh and Ed Furtado took the scoring laurels for Chevy with 10- and 9-point production.
The Valiant quintet had an easy time in winning 34-17 over the Dodge combine as Tom Murphy hit the mark for 22 points for the winners and Mike McCarthy netting nine points for the losing Dodge team.
In the closest game of the evening, the Tempest team came from behind to nip Oldsmobile with a 41-39 score. The two-man scoring efforts of Vin Aguiar and Johnny Thibeault accounted for 22 points and 15 points to put the Tempest team on top.
Tom McAvoy came up with 25 points and Ted Menard 14 as the Oldsmobile team dropped from a three-way tie for first place.
Then, slightly less than 2 years later, from February 1966 we see this headline:
Nut Leaguers continue to run up high scores
The YMCAs Youth Nut League, possibly the highest scoring league in the country, opened its second round of play Wednesday night.
Vin Aguiar scored unheard of 74 points in leading the Cashews to a 147-77 rout over the Almonds. Every starter on the Cashews hit for double figures with Ralph Arguin hitting for 21 and Tom Murphy for 24. Ken Furtado with 30 points was high for the Almonds followed by Steve Derosier.
In the other contest, Tom McAvoy sank 60 points in leading the Filberts to a 114-112 victory over the Pecans. Dale Graveline hit for 20 and Doug Johnson netted 28 for the Filberts.
The loss by the Pecans overshadowed a great performance by Don Fisher, who led his team with 50 tallies. Other 20-plus scorers for the losers were Jim McDonald and Clyde Nunes with 22.
***
Now I consider the above no more than an amusing little anecdote, but it didn't strike me as such at the time. I recall this night very well. My Filberts team took a squeaker from the Pecans 114-112. Four or five years earlier I had watched Mike Delutis set a new high scoring record in YMCA play with a 57-point output, and forever after I always thought about such an accomplishment. On that February evening we were playing in the YMCA's "little gym," where I always seemed to shoot and play well. From the opening whistle, I felt "in the zone," a state of consciousness seemingly bestowed upon an athlete through mystical means when, for an indeterminate period, absolutely everything turns out positive. I was shooting 25-foot jumpers and seemingly could not miss. If they sent a man out to guard me, I found Dale Graveline or Doug Johnson underneath. My line score for the night was 30-0-60, or a total of 60 points from 30 field goals with no foul shots. A quick check by the officials and scorer confirmed that your humble journalist was now the new holder of the scoring record.
As I began to ascend the stairs to the locker room, I heard a commotion from the "big gym" upstairs, where one game was still being played. Edging in the door, I overheard an onlooker say, "That's 55 points for Aguiar with about five minutes left." I'm sure by now you know that in those five minutes, Vinny scored another nine points and I must have set a new mark for "shortest time for a scoring record."
Closing thought
To the family of my old friend and teacher Joseph Bono, in particular my friend Paul Bono, his son: deepest condolences on the passing of an iconic gentleman.
Please make the golden rule your manual for living. Peace.
Thomas McAvoy looks back at the past each Tuesday. Contact him at [email protected].